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poenaestante's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Nice vignettes from the remarkable life of Edward Enninful, an intrepid, courageous and innovative queer Ghanaian. I am glad to know his story and I'm inspired by his drive
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Medical content, and Homophobia
skeltzer's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Picked this up on a whim and really enjoyed it. I knew who EE was generally before reading and got to know him much better through the book. What an interesting slice of life from Ghana to 80s London to today. I learned so much about fashion too. He's a great writer. Only thing I didn't like was how small the photographs were!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Racism, and Addiction
elsary's review
slow-paced
2.5
Right. This book took me over a month to finish, and it's a solid 2,5.
I really wished I could've loved this book with passion, feel enchanted and inspired and like I got a full experience of a great story with a changemaker. Unfortunately, I did not feel that. At times the book gave exactly what I wished for, a more personal account on how Edward Enninful came to be the man we know today, how he made it through hardships and changed the world. But most of the moments I ejoyed were unfortunately only the moments when he suffered - and I think it's that those were the (only?) moments he recounted his experiences with enough detail and personal touch to make it interesting.
Somehow, most of the book felt like a very surface-level recount of his life, with long lists of names making an appearance on every other page. Edward praises his colleagues and friends and fashion big names from Kate Moss to Franca Sozzani to Diane von Furstenberg, but most of them didn't leave any impression on me. Edward and Kate are apparently besties - I know this because Edward said so, but if I was asked to give proof other than that, I couldn't remember anything.
If I compare Edward's self-biography to some other ones I've read (and I haven't read many, I'm not great at it) - Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington, Just Kids by Patti Smith, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay - I think the problem is Edward's book left me cold. There were those instances which were amazing, making me engaged and excited to continue, but unfortunately most of the book wasn't like them.
I really wished I could've loved this book with passion, feel enchanted and inspired and like I got a full experience of a great story with a changemaker. Unfortunately, I did not feel that. At times the book gave exactly what I wished for, a more personal account on how Edward Enninful came to be the man we know today, how he made it through hardships and changed the world. But most of the moments I ejoyed were unfortunately only the moments when he suffered - and I think it's that those were the (only?) moments he recounted his experiences with enough detail and personal touch to make it interesting.
Somehow, most of the book felt like a very surface-level recount of his life, with long lists of names making an appearance on every other page. Edward praises his colleagues and friends and fashion big names from Kate Moss to Franca Sozzani to Diane von Furstenberg, but most of them didn't leave any impression on me. Edward and Kate are apparently besties - I know this because Edward said so, but if I was asked to give proof other than that, I couldn't remember anything.
If I compare Edward's self-biography to some other ones I've read (and I haven't read many, I'm not great at it) - Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington, Just Kids by Patti Smith, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay - I think the problem is Edward's book left me cold. There were those instances which were amazing, making me engaged and excited to continue, but unfortunately most of the book wasn't like them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
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